Elongated flexible members such as hoses or electrical cords are a necessity for homeowners and industry alike. Typically, these elongated flexible members are found either wound and left on the ground near a fluid or electrical supply, or wound on one of many known reel-type storage devices.
The prior art has proposed a number of different structures for rewinding and storing a flexible elongate member when it is not in use. These devices generally include stationary reel hangers that can be mounted to a surface of a building or vehicle, as well as portable reel carts that permit ready transport of the flexible elongate member from one location to another.
For example, a typical surface mounted device or stationary reel hanger includes a rotatable fitting that is mounted to the building surface to which a manually rotated reel is mounted. To retrieve the flexible elongate member utilizing one of the stationary reel hangers requires manually winding the flexible elongate member around the structure or simply bundling the flexible elongate member into loose coils and hanging the bundle over the structure. Unfortunately, when hose is pulled out from such manually wound devices, it often becomes snarled or tangled and requires appreciable time and effort to correct the situation.
Portable flexible elongate member reel carts permit ready transport of the flexible elongate member from one location to another. Portable flexible elongate member reel carts typically include an open, manually rotatable reel or spool positioned between a pair of side frames with wheels. The flexible elongate member is manually wound upon the reel for storage and pulled or dispensed from the reel for use.
Although such carts have become wide-spread in use because of their portable storage capabilities, they do have drawbacks. First, these devices require manual winding of the hose. Rewinding a long flexible elongate member requires a considerable effort. Due to the low positional location of the winding mechanism on these devices, many users may be physically unable to complete the rewinding. Additionally, a flexible elongate member stored on such a reel is exposed to the elements. Often flexible elongate members are made of rubber or like materials that can become stiff or brittle and can break when subjected to ultra-violet radiation or low temperature extremes, particularly with advanced age.
In an effort to solve some of these problems, a number of flexible elongate member retrieval devices have been developed which automatically retrieve and rewind flexible elongate members on a reel in such a manner so as to avoid tangling the next time the flexible elongate member is deployed or paid out. Such devices generally include a powered reel to retrieve the flexible elongate member and a level wind mechanism for guiding the flexible elongate member onto the reel. The reel is generally driven by the combination of an electric motor and a speed reducer such as a gearbox or a chain and sprocket assembly. Power for the electric motor is generally provided by either household current or a battery. A simple electrical switch is activated to allow current to flow from the power supply to the electrical motor to rotate the powered reel. The level wind mechanism is typically also driven, via a drive train, by the same electric motor and includes a traversing screw, a guide rod, and a follower.
Unfortunately, many of these motorized devices lack a suitably safe enclosure to protect the operator and/or small children from being accidentally caught in the device or its drive train. The motors and drive train mechanisms utilized on these devices often have numerous pinch points and are capable of causing serious injury to an operator that inadvertently gets tangled in the device. In addition, the electric motors utilized in most of the prior art devices have voltage requirements that may cause an electrical shock in the absence of adequate guarding.
Moreover, none of the motorized hose reels known, are equipped with safety interlocks to prevent the electric motor from being engaged if an enclosure cover is opened. To compound the problem, many of these devices do not provide any means to immediately stop the retrieval of the flexible elongate member in the event of an emergency, requiring the entire flexible elongate member to be retracted before the device can be stopped. Retracting the entire flexible elongate member may take several seconds and exacerbates emergency situations such as when a person or pet has been caught in the device or the flexible elongate member as it is retracted.
Even further, none of the devices known provide a disengaging level-wind mechanism. The level-winds of the prior art are capable of causing severe damage to an operator, child or pet that may accidentally obstruct the path of the level-wind mechanisms as they traverse back and forth across the reel.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a motorized reel storage enclosure that permits safe motorized take-up of a flexible elongate member. The enclosure should cause the device to stop immediately when the enclosure is opened or tipped over. In addition, the level-wind utilized in the enclosure should disengage in the event that its path becomes blocked. Moreover, the enclosure should provide a means for an operator to quickly stop the retrieval of the flexible elongate member in an emergency situation. Such an enclosure should be capable of safely retracting and “hiding-away” the flexible elongate member stored therein when not in use, and provide a protective, outward aesthetically pleasing appearance.